Biofuels for Road Transport

by Reijnders, Lucas; Huijbregts, Mark A. J.

• ISBN13: 9781848821378
• ISBN10: 1848821379
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-01-14
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Biofuels for Road Transport: A Seed to Wheel Perspective provides a review of the history, the current status and the impact of biofuels used in road transport, across the full "seed-to-wheel" life cycle of these fuels. Successive chapters cover many issues relevant to the current debate on biofuels, such as cost, competition with food production, contribution to energy security, use of natural resources, and environmental impact. The final chapter addresses common concerns about biofuels, including questions on sustainability and government policy.

Table of Contents

Transport Biofuels: Their Characteristics, Production and Costs	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The Physical Basis for Biofuels	p. 3
Biofuel Varieties	p. 4
Virtual Biofuels	p. 10
Production and Application of Liquid and Gaseous Transport Biofuels	p. 12
Biofuels from Terrestrial Plants and Animals	p. 12
Biofuels from Aquatic Biomass	p. 21
Hydrogen Production Mediated by Micro-Organisms	p. 24
Biofuel-Based Electricity for Transport	p. 25
Recent Development of Transport Biofuel Production: Volume, Costs and Prices	p. 26
Volume of Biofuel Production	p. 26
Costs of Biofuel Production and Biofuel Prices	p. 28
Key Issues and the Rest of This Book	p. 32
References	p. 35
Energy Balance: Cumulative Fossil Fuel Demand and Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency of Transport Biofuels	p. 49
Introduction	p. 49
Allocation	p. 50
Cumulative Fossil Fuel Demand	p. 52
Transport Biofuels from Terrestrial Plants	p. 52
Transport Biofuels from Wastes	p. 53
Transport Biofuels from Aquatic Biomass	p. 53
Conversion of Solar Energy into Biomass	p. 55
Terrestrial Plants	p. 56
Terrestrial Biofuels	p. 57
Biofuels from Algae and Aquatic Macrophytes	p. 61
Solar Conversion Efficiencies of Physical Methods	p. 64
Overall Energy Efficiencies in Performing Work	p. 65
References	p. 67
Non-energy Natural Resource Demand	p. 75
Introduction	p. 75
Soil and Soil Organic Matter	p. 75
Nutrients	p. 79
Forests and Plantations	p. 80
Agricultural Soils	p. 83
Water	p. 85
Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Biomass Yields	p. 88
References	p. 89
Climate Effects and Non-greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Transport Biofuel Life Cycles	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Uncertainty in the Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessments of Biofuels	p. 102
Transport Biofuels and Climate	p. 103
Introduction	p. 103
Fossil-Fuel-Based Carbonaceous Greenhouse Gas Emissions	p. 104
N[subscript 2]O Emissions	p. 105
Biogenic CO[subscript 2] Emissions	p. 106
Other Carbonaceous Biogenic Emissions	p. 111
Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Specific Biofuels and Categories of Biofuels	p. 111
Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Specific Biofuels	p. 111
Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Categories of Transport Biofuels	p. 113
Non-greenhouse Gas Emissions	p. 116
Potential for Emission Reduction	p. 119
References	p. 120
The Impact of Expanded Biofuel Production on Living Nature	p. 129
Introduction	p. 129
Loss of Biodiversity and Its Impact on Natural Resources Which Have Monetary Value	p. 134
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Loss Due to Replacement of Nature	p. 135
Cropping and Harvesting Feedstocks for Biofuels	p. 138
Cropping and Crop Harvesting Practices	p. 138
Harvesting Nature	p. 139
Invasive Species	p. 140
References	p. 141
Frequently Asked Questions in the Transport Biofuel Debate	p. 149
Introduction	p. 149
A Focus on One Transport Biofuel Output or on Biorefineries?	p. 149
Can Transport Biofuels Significantly Contribute to Energy Security?	p. 151
Transport Biofuels, Food Prices and Food Security	p. 153
Is Expanding Biofuel Production a Good Way to Tackle Climate Change?	p. 156
Transport Biofuel Production and Nature Conservation	p. 158
How to Use Natural Resources for Biofuel Production in a Sustainable Way?	p. 159
What Government Policy Should One Aim at for Transport Biofuels?	p. 160
Hard Choices	p. 160
Evident Policy Priorities Regarding the Production of Biofuels	p. 161
References	p. 162
Index	p. 167
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